Toward integrating clinical and non-clinical associates of suicidality to inform potential intervention points among youth in Nairobi metropolitan, Kenya

Cambridge Prisms Global Mental Health · 2026-01-01

Suicide is a significant global public health concern, particularly among adolescents, with substantial implications for economies, societies and individuals' mental well-being. Understanding its patterns and intention and psychosocial determinants in a given context can suggest potential intervention points. This population-based cross-sectional study aimed to document suicidal ideas, behaviors and intensity among youths aged 14 to 25 in the Nairobi metropolitan area and associated socio-economic position, demographic indicators and potential intervention points. A diverse sample of 1,972 participants was recruited from urban and peri-urban settings within the Nairobi metropolitan area. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and logistic regression. Our findings confirm a high prevalence of suicidal ideas and behavior in the youth (19.9% and 3.6%, respectively), with very few significant differences between the urban and peri-urban areas. The severity of suicidal ideation and behavior reported methods and reasons, and the socio-demographic profile of participants, point to multiple potential intervention targets. These findings ought to be used to design, manage and evaluate suicide prevention programs.

A pathways framework for the climate change-mental health-violence nexus in informal settlements

Urban Climate · 2026-02-24

When income buffers extreme weather: Impacts on women’s mental health in informal settlements

PLOS Climate · 2026-04-10

Climate change threatens mental health, especially for the more than one billion residents in informal settlements worldwide. Utilizing longitudinal data collected from women in households in two of Nairobi’s largest informal settlements, we examined the mental health impacts of extreme weather and moderating effects of income. Eighteen monthly surveys (September 2022–February 2024) captured experiences of heat, cold, drought, heavy rain, and flooding alongside symptoms of anxiety and depression. Heat, cold, and drought were associated with increased anxiety and depression while heavy rain reduced symptoms and flooding showed no significant association. Critically, income moderated the effects of heat and drought. We identified income thresholds at which heat and drought were no longer significantly associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety. While the income thresholds identified may not apply to all informal settlements, the same approach can help other communities develop locally-grounded guidelines for financial planning to reduce climate-related health risks and inequities. For example, women in households earning below KES 11,000 (~US$87) experienced significant mental health burdens during extreme heat while those with higher incomes did not. These findings suggest that financial vulnerability exacerbates climate-related mental health risks in these communities; however, finance-based interventions—such as forecast-based cash transfers, resilience grants, and community-centered employment programs—could buffer the psychological impacts of climate extremes while strengthening adaptation and reducing inequities.

Women's subjective resilience to climate change in informal settlements: Learning from residents in Nairobi, Kenya

2026-01-01

This study explores women's subjective resilience to climate change in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, focusing on the lived experiences of women who face heightened vulnerability. Informal settlements, characterized by overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, and insecure tenure, are disproportionately affected by extreme weather events such as flooding and heatwaves. While existing literature highlights climate resilience at the socio-ecological systems level, there is limited attention on women's personal experiences and adaptive strategies. This research fills that gap by investigating how women perceive and respond to climate challenges, contributing valuable insights into the relationship between individual resilience and broader systems of adaptation. Using qualitative methods, the study examines the roles women play in household and community-level adaptation, emphasizing their agency and the systemic barriers they encounter, including poverty, political marginalization, and limited access to resources. The findings reveal that women’s resilience is shaped by interactions between personal assets and strategies and external resources at every level of the social-ecology. These interactions both reinforce and challenge broader socio-ecological resilience frameworks, highlighting the need for integrated, context-specific climate adaptation. The study calls for more inclusive approaches to climate adaptation that build on mutual aid and community-level initiatives in informal settlements to recover, adapt and transform in the face of climate change. Ultimately, this research offers a foundation for designing more effective, community-driven climate strategies that center women’s experiences and promote sustainable, system-level resilience.

The Hidden Divide: Development Inequities in Global South m-health (Preprint)

2026-03-02

<sec> <title>UNSTRUCTURED</title> Mobile health (m-health) is widely promoted as a solution to health service gaps in the Global South; yet, its development remains structurally inequitable. Prior research has focused largely on barriers to implementation, with far less attention to upstream constraints that shape who designs, owns, governs, and sustains digital health technologies. Drawing on a literature review and a case study of a smartphone-based intervention developed in Kenya for women experiencing intimate partner violence amid climate-related stress, this viewpoint identifies six domains of development-stage inequity: financing and ownership; connectivity and mobile-data structures; data governance and sovereignty; platform gatekeeping; digital divides and safety-critical design; and sustainability. We show how Global North–centered funding models, platform rules, and data governance structures reproduce control over technologies intended for Global South contexts. Achieving equitable m-health requires greater Global South leadership in development, ownership, and governance, supported by coordinated action from funders, platforms, and regulators. </sec>

Feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a combined intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health intervention (WINGS+PM+) for women in informal settlements in Kenya

Social Science & Medicine · 2026-02-14

An Exploration of Pathways to Care and Referral Systems for Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence in Informal Settlements of Nairobi, Kenya: A Qualitative Study

Journal of Family Violence · 2026-04-09

Determinants of sleep quality among women living in informal settlements in Kenya

Columbia Academic Commons (Columbia University) · 2026-01-28

Recommendation: Toward integrating clinical and non-clinical associates of suicidality to inform potential intervention points among youth in Nairobi metropolitan, Kenya — R0/PR5

2025-07-14

Suicide is a significant global public health concern, particularly among adolescents, with substantial implications for economies, societies and individuals’ mental well-being. Understanding its patterns and intention and psychosocial determinants in a given context can suggest potential intervention points. This population-based cross-sectional study aimed to document suicidal ideas, behaviors and intensity among youths aged 14 to 25 in the Nairobi metropolitan area and associated socio-economic position, demographic indicators and potential intervention points. A diverse sample of 1,972 participants was recruited from urban and peri-urban settings within the Nairobi metropolitan area. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and logistic regression. Our findings confirm a high prevalence of suicidal ideas and behavior in the youth (19.9% and 3.6%, respectively), with very few significant differences between the urban and peri-urban areas. The severity of suicidal ideation and behavior reported methods and reasons, and the socio-demographic profile of participants, point to multiple potential intervention targets. These findings ought to be used to design, manage and evaluate suicide prevention programs.

Recommendation: Toward integrating clinical and non-clinical associates of suicidality to inform potential intervention points among youth in Nairobi metropolitan, Kenya — R1/PR9

2025-09-30

Suicide is a significant global public health concern, particularly among adolescents, with substantial implications for economies, societies and individuals’ mental well-being. Understanding its patterns and intention and psychosocial determinants in a given context can suggest potential intervention points. This population-based cross-sectional study aimed to document suicidal ideas, behaviors and intensity among youths aged 14 to 25 in the Nairobi metropolitan area and associated socio-economic position, demographic indicators and potential intervention points. A diverse sample of 1,972 participants was recruited from urban and peri-urban settings within the Nairobi metropolitan area. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and logistic regression. Our findings confirm a high prevalence of suicidal ideas and behavior in the youth (19.9% and 3.6%, respectively), with very few significant differences between the urban and peri-urban areas. The severity of suicidal ideation and behavior reported methods and reasons, and the socio-demographic profile of participants, point to multiple potential intervention targets. These findings ought to be used to design, manage and evaluate suicide prevention programs.